Sunday, 22 September 2013

Books I've Shared

Meg at Fourth Grade Studio asked "What books have you shared with your class so far this year?" And I thought.... let's blog about that. So here goes:

1) The Name Jar: I read this in the first few days of school when I had last year's class. I purchased this book over the summer, and hadn't tested it out yet. It was really well received. If you aren't familiar, it's about a girl who moves to New York and has a name that is very hard to pronounce. She decides she will change her name, and takes suggestions in a jar. It's a great book about acceptance. I plan to bring it out mid-year on a day my students are having a rough time getting along.

2) Do Unto Otter: This was book 1 of 4 in a classroom community plan I had. We were working up to building our class agreement. This book is really fun to read and really gets kids to think about their behaviour and how it affects others.

3) Have you filled a bucket today?: Book 2 of 4 in the plan. One students said after reading "Hey! Being a bucket filler is just like doing unto others!". Exactly. :)

We also do a bucket filling program in my classroom so this was used to introduce those slips.

4) The Juice Box Bully: Book 3 of 4. In this book they have a classroom promise, which helps lead into our class agreement. This book also leads to great discussion about why the boy in the story is so miserable and the power of standing up.

5) David Goes to School: Book 4 of 4 in the plan. This is a quick read. I love No David books! I used it just before planning the class agreement as there are so many good non-examples of how our behaviour should look in this story.

6) Scaredy Squirrel Goes Camping: In B.C., students in grade 4 do a beginning of the year reading assessment known as the QCA. To complete this, there is a web graphic organizer they need to know how to fill out. I read this book so we could do an example web together for practice.

7) The Party: On this list to read this week. I'm going to start connections in Language Arts. This book is a great one for students to make connections to.